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“There was more than one option?” I ask, peering up at Rayne through my lashes.
“There were eight,” Snow answers before he has a chance. “Big bro didn’t give me much to go on other than long sleeves, which is a total no duh in this weather, and a size, and I wanted you to have options. Obviously Rayne made the choice for you.” She winks.
Eight? I look back up at Rayne with more questions than I have answers as I mentally do the math. If the other seven dresses cost even half as much as the one I’m wearing, Rayne spent a literal fortune on dresses for me for one event.
Rayne shrugs. “I figured you’ll wear them at some stage. The others are in my wardrobe at home.”
I’m speechless. Actually fucking floored. Where the fuck am I going to wear another dress like this, let alone seven? We only have one gala per year, and I don’t go anywhere else that would warrant such extravagance.
“Plus, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to spoil my girl, is there?”
I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. Rayne looks at me with a smug smile, like he enjoys rendering me without words.
“It’s nice to meet you, Emerson. Rayne has nothing but lovely things to say about you.” Storm smiles from where he’s standing beside Wynter. “Would you mind if I borrowed my brother for a few minutes?”
“You are not working tonight!” Beth scolds. “All you boys do is work, and we never have a nice night as a family without one of you having to run off to take care of something important.”
Storm’s cold eyes soften as he looks at his mother. “It won’t take long, I promise.”
Rayne looks hesitant to leave me with his family and I can’t tell who he thinks will embarrass him more. Me. Surely it has to be me.
“Stay here,” he tells me and by the look he’s giving me, I know he’s dead serious. He drops a quick kiss to my forehead before disappearing after his brother.
“Okay, now they’re gone, I’m going to need to know everything there is to know about you.” Snow grasps my hand in hers. “Having another sister is going to be the best thing ever!”
My eyes go wide. Sister? I’ve only known Rayne for two weeks, and I’ve only known he’s interested in me for a few days. Surely it’s too early to be at sister status.
Wynter rolls her eyes. “Don’t mind Snow. She’s excited that our oldest brother is less growly than normal, and that one of them is finally dating.”
“I’m sure he’s dated before.” I laugh nervously.
“If he has, we’ve never met them. And we’ve certainly never had our presence demanded at an event like it was for this one. God, our lives wouldn’t have been worth living if we said we were busy.”
This family has rendered me speechless more times in ten minutes than I think I’ve been in my entire life. I assumed Rayne’s fascination with me had an expiry date, and that that date probably wasn’t far away, which was for the best. After Brad I couldn’t see how I would survive another broken heart, the sooner Rayne realizes I’m not worth his time, the better it will be for me. But the way his family has welcomed me with open arms, the way they’re talking like Rayne has never acted like this before, and the fact that not one, but all of them have spoken to him about me, it’s caught me off guard.
What I assumed would be a short-term infatuation, doesn’t seem to be on his side, and that scares the hell out of me.
I look around the room that’s filled with Chicago’s richest and most powerful people, people who make enough money in one hour to fund our Center for a full year, and somehow, I’ve found myself surrounded by one of those families. I take a deep breath, the panic rising through my chest to the point I can barely breathe. “I’m just going to pop to the bathroom before they call for speeches,” I tell them, hoping they don’t notice the panic in my voice or the fact speeches aren’t for another hour.
I’m walking away before anyone can stop me, needing to put some space between myself and the Saint James family. The moment I make it to the bathroom, I lock myself in the stall and lean against the door.
I’m fucking insane. That’s the only reason I would be getting involved with a known criminal who lives his life in the public eye. What the fuck am I doing?
18
Rayne
Leaving Emerson with my family should have me nervous for one of a few reasons. One, my sisters are fucking batshit crazy. Snow will talk the leg off a chair, and Wynter is always looking for a way to fuck with Storm and me. Two, no one I’ve dated has ever been in the same room as my family and yet I basically threatened every member of my bloodline into being here tonight. And three, it gives Emerson breathing room, which if history proves anything, it's that giving her time to think, and time to rationalize all the reasons us being together is a bad idea, is a mistake.
And yet I’m walking away from her with my brother.
“I won’t keep you long,” Storm promises.
“You better not,” I growl. He doesn’t understand. He’s never given a fuck about anyone but our family and Everett. But the further I am from Emerson, the more it feels like I’m coming out of my fucking skin. It just cements the fact I need to move her into my penthouse. I need to know where she is at every moment of every day, and her living with me is a sure-fire way to make that happen.
“I’ve never seen you like this, brother. It’s a good look on you.”
At first, I think he’s mocking me for how obsessed I am over the red-headed spitfire I just left with the rest of our family. But when I meet his eyes, I see how serious he is.
